Abuja – The Federal Government has promised to provide toilet and water facilities in major motor parks across the country.
Mr Shola Awe, Director, Water Quality Control and Sanitation in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in on Monday.
Awe said this demonstrated government’s commitment to scaling up access to water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) before year 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He said the provision of such facilities would reduce outbreak of preventable diseases and deaths, especially in under-five children in the country.
“The political will is highest in recent times, the minister is working very hard to see that sanitation, hygiene and water supply is scaled up in the country.
“The ministry is also ensuring that Nigeria has universal access to water supply by the year 2030 in line with the SDGs demands.
“The Federal Government is also looking at providing these facilities in all our major transport hubs and parks,’’ Awe said.
He said the ministry was also working to promote Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in all states, with emphasis on all households to construct and use their toilets.
The director said there were also measures to scale up CLTS activities in markets, schools, health centres, prisons and IDPs camps.
According to him, persons living in the Internally Displaced Persons camps in the North East are in continuous need of water and toilet facilities, which should not be ignored.
He said although inadequate funds was still a challenge, priority would be given to scaling up access to sanitation and hygiene.
“The ministry is working hard in the areas of sanitation especially promoting CLTS all over the states for households to construct and use their own latrines,’’ he said.
Awe noted that many urban settlements lacked hygiene facilities, resulting in open defecation, which posed threat to life as faeces were washed into drinking water sources.
The director urged the leadership of churches and mosques to provide such facilities for their congregation, saying this would go a long way in promoting healthier lives.
Awe stressed the need for attitudinal change to reduce water-borne diseases, adding that good hygiene, often termed “a personal thing’’ should reflect in the life of Nigerians. (NAN)